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Marlins Park becomes 50th venue for Moyer

Marlins Park becomes 50th venue for Moyer

Jamie Moyer

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MIAMI -- Jamie Moyer knows a thing or two about Major League ballparks. After all, he has pitched in 50 of them during his career.

On Monday, Marlins Park became the 50th Major League venue that Moyer has pitched in, which is the most among pitchers since 1921. The 49-year-old lefty seemed fond of the Marlins' new facility, which is in its inaugural season.

"It's a nice ballpark," Moyer said. "I mean, I like the mound. I got to look at places where I work, and I like the mound, I like the bullpen. ... They've got some nice digs here."

Moyer, who lasted just 3 2/3 frames in the series-opening loss, joked that he wasn't on the field long enough to fully take in the new ballpark. However, he said he will enjoy getting to check it out the rest of the series.

Moyer took the loss in his first start at Marlins Park, after going 8-2 with a 1.64 ERA in 10 career starts at Sun Life Stadium, the Marlins' former home. Despite the fact Marlins Park wasn't as kind to Moyer as Miami's former venue, he's still a fan of the new facility.

"Put it this way," Moyer said, "when you compare apples to oranges, it's eons better than where they used to play."

As for Rockies manager Jim Tracy, he liked what he saw on his initial walk around the stadium Monday, though he joked he needed to take a closer look at the 73-foot, animated home run structure in center field to analyze it. Although Tracy isn't sure what to think of the statue, he knows one thing for sure about Marlins Park.

"I know there won't be a two-hour rain delay," Tracy said. "We've run into that a little bit in the past. I think they'll like this park a little bit more than Sun Life Stadium, no disrespect meant."